The Boundaries Which Divide
by Shiki - Seeker of Dankness
Summary: The man turned towards Misato. "Misato Katsuragi, the monster above us wants nothing more than to bring about a Third Impact." He pushed up his glasses, a gleam of light sliding across them as he did so. "Nobody will survive another Impact, and you are the only one who can stop that Angel. Will you pilot the Evangelion?"
1. Angel Attack (Redux)

Misato Katsuragi stared at the public phone. A little plastic cover protected it from the elements, but it was nothing unusual. Her eyes chased the cord - it still had a cord, and a thick one for transmission, not the slim ones used just to make sure the receiver wasn't stolen - from the phone box itself along a thin grey stripe. As her eyes passed the receiver, then the cover, she noted that it was incredibly usual. Tokyo-3 had been called the "Fortress City" for years now, but it really didn't live up to the name in Misato's eyes. If anything, it was the "We Want To Be Just Like Old Tokyo" city.

She sighed, and reached for the receiver. Holding it up to her ear, she waited for the operator to come on the line. It was a computerized operator, of course - that was one of the amazing things that the city did live up to. "I'm sorry, due to the state of emergency for the Kanto and Chubu regions, we are not able to place your call. Please call at a later date."

That was a hundred yen down the drain. Nothing she could do about that now, however. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the picture she'd been sent. A redhead grinned back, vaguely German-American features dotting a otherwise Japanese face. The woman - clad in a decidedly _not_ Japanese yellow sundress - was standing with her chest facing somewhere off to the side, but her head was pointed at the camera. To top the clearly staged picture off, she was giving a big thumbs-up to the cameraman.

According to the malshapen kanji sprinkled on the picture - with no small dosage of hiragana for the slightly more difficult words - she was Lieutenant Asuka Langley-Soryu. _Nothing to do but wait, I suppose._ Misato looked up the street to see if anyone else was there. A flash of sky-blue hair caught her eye, and she refocused on it. There was nobody there.

Shaking her head to ward away the unceasing forces of crazy, she gazed at the skyline. What's that big, black- Her thoughts took backseat as a giant something emerged from the buildings. It was humanoid, proportionally tall, and it had shoulder blades that reached its head. It was also black as night, and instead of a face, it had a mask that looked like a bird straight from the pits.

"Hey, kid!" Misato was jolted from her shocked observations by a woman's voice. Looking at the source, she saw a grinning woman in a car - the woman from the picture. "Are you Misato Katsuragi?"

"That's me!" Misato took pride in her name. Not everyone, she knew, could claim their father actually predicted Second Impact. Not that it did him much good, but still...

The woman pulled down blue-black sunglasses to reveal blue eyes the shade of sapphires. "Asuka Langley-Soryu, at your service. Hop in."

"You work at Nerv, right?"

"That's right. Oh! Commander Ikari told me to tell you this as proof. 'Frank Sinatra still lives.'"

Misato smirked. Only Dad's friends would know that one. She nodded sharply. "Alright." She pulled open the door, and she slid in.

"No luggage?"

"No luggage."

The car sped away - and just in time, too; the monster leapt in their direction. Thankfully, a few choice swerves by the driver beside her got them out A-OK. "What was that thing?"

"That, Miss Katsuragi, was an Angel. Our job is to show those creatures who's boss."

"Hmm." Well it certainly didn't seem very angelic, but there was a reason for that term. Probably not one any civilian would understand, Misato gathered, but a reason nevertheless. "Nerv's job, Lieutenant?"

"Yep, aside from environmental rebuilding, walking around like ninjas, a whole lot of things. Commander Ikari has...eclectic interests." She grinned. "Also, call me Asuka. All these titles and honorifics...back home it was nice and simple. Your name was your name."

 _Finally, a kindred spirit!_ "Misato, then. Where did you grow up?"

"German-" Asuka looked out the window, and her shoulders rose within the time span of a split second. "Get down!"

If there was any command Misato knew how to obey, it was that one. "What's going on?" It was a bit hard to talk with her head between her knees, but not dying was worth it.

"They're going to drop an N2 Mine!"

The N2 Mine, technically the Non-Nuclear Detonation Device, was the pride and joy of the JSSDF, and they were not quiet about it - that's actually the only reason Misato knew of it. If they were deploying an N2, then just what was that thing?

The world grew white, and the accompanying silence worried Misato. Had she died? That question was solved by the shaking, then tipping, then outright rolling of the car. As with most detonations, this was followed immediately by a loud boom. This refers to loud as "the loudest sound Misato had ever heard, bar none," rather than the more common "my speakers are at max" level.

The car bounced once and twice and three times, before skidding to a stop. On its side. "Are you alright, Misato?"

"I'm currently being used as a landing mattress. What do you think?" It was a little known and seldom used fact that Misato grew sassy when caught in the wake of a Weapon of Mass Destruction. Now, she had only ever been caught in a WMD this once as of yet, but that didn't justify ignorance.

Asuka just laughed, before reaching for the door handle above her. She pulled it open, then reached through the opening. She grabbed on to something up there, as she was able to pull herself out without touching anything with her feet. Said feet vanished, only to be replaced by a cascade of orange hair, and an extended arm. "Need a hand?" Not too proud to accept help, Misato clasped the older woman's wrist, and she grabbed the side of a chair to pull herself...up. She was going up already. Apparently Asuka was insanely strong.

When they were standing on the dirt, Asuka asked again. "Are you okay?"

Misato nodded. "Bit bruised, but I'll live."

"Good." The orange-haired woman glanced at her wrist, and her eyes widened. "We're a bit behind schedule. Could I have a hand?" A flick of the hair indicated she was talking about the car.

"Sure." They each took an end of the beat-up car, and pushed. It wasn't all that heavy - heavy cars were a waste of money, for the most part, unless you were exploring Australia or Africa or someplace - so it tipped easily, and it only shook once or twice before steadying.

* * *

"I can't - I can't believe it did nothing!"

"We threw everything at it!"

"We can't maintain this. Casualties are off the charts."

A long silence reigned before the three JSSDF commanders glanced at each other. They must have agreed on something, as they turned as one to look at Gendo Ikari. "Our weapons had no effect. We leave command of this operation to you. Can you defeat this abomination?" spoke one.

"Of course." Gendo Ikari pushed up his LCL-orange glasses by the bridge. "That is the sole reason Nerv exists."

The platform with the three men sank into the floor, and Gendo glanced at his Chief of Science - one Doctor Rei Ayanami. "Prepare Unit-01 for deployment."

His second-in-command spoke softly, so rest of the bridge staff would not hear him. "How? The First Child is still injured."

"A spare is being delivered as we speak, Professor."

"Alright..."

Rei was already gone, and the activity at the bridge had skyrocketed compared to before.

* * *

In terms of trust in the vehicle she was in, Misato was at an all-time low. The car was falling apart, the driver was of debatable mental stability, and half of the parts had to have been stolen. Also, they were near a monster that put Godzilla to shame - _it survived an N2_ for heaven's sake! Therefore, Misato found herself more than justified in not trusting the car.

"Can you patch me through to Doctor Ayanami?" Asuka was talking on the phone to somebody, presumably at Nerv, as she drove. Probably not the safest thing in the world, but there must be a reason, Misato assumed. The lieutenant was quiet for a moment, before her eyes widened a sliver. "Maya? Oh, hey. Is Wondergirl there?"

Wondergirl? "Why is she swimming in the LCL? It's not like we can deploy at the moment. Anyway, could you tell her I've got the Third Child? Also, I need a car-train queued. Could you do that? Thanks." She hung up and turned towards Misato. "And we should be good."

Misato looked at her, then at the car, then at the road, and finally back at her. "Could you keep your eyes on the road? I rather enjoy not dying."

"You're no fun." She turned back. Then her knee flew down and the car jerked to a stop.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

Asuka just stuck out her tongue and continued to drive.

* * *

The elevator dinged to a stop, and white-washed metal doors slid open to reveal a lab coat. Of course, as with most lab coats, this lab coat was surrounding a human being. Blue hair reached most of the way down the woman's head, stopping just above the chin, delineating a thin, almost sculpted face. The slightly smaller than usual features were nowhere near as odd as her hair color. Well, bar her eyes. Her eyes were red, the shade of blood, spilt blood. "Lieutenant Langley-Soryu," she greeted - though greeted was probably the wrong word for it, as it seemed more like a statement of Asuka's existence.

"Wondergirl." The response was equally as impassive, if not quite as inhuman. "This is Misato Katsuragi."

"The Third Child, according to the most recent Marduk Institute report. Welcome to Nerv." The phrase sounded worn-out, as if she had memorized it. Misato was at a loss as to what that meant, however. "You are late, Lieutenant."

"It's not my fault this place is a maze. Nerv-Germany made so much more sense - no halls that lead to halls that just lead to more halls."

"You are aware of the history of this place, and why it is designed as so."

"Yeah, yeah." The incredibly civil argument that was brewing was stopped by the elevator dinging again. "Wondergirl" was the first person out, followed by Asuka. Misato followed beside her, a bounce in her step. She was in one of the most secret places in the world, after all.

After they walked for a few minutes, a door slid open, but the light from the ceiling lamp above scattered without revealing a thing. "Watch your step, Misato." Misato followed her voice until it stopped, when Misato did the same.

A moment passed. Then the room glowed white. Blinking to adjust her eyes, she looked around. Most notably, she saw a giant, purple head. It was fairly anatomically correct as giants go, except for the giant horn sticking out of it. That wasn't on humans, except those that magically fused with unicorns. However, those still haven't been discovered, so this thing was unique in that aspect. "Is that a robot?"

"Wondergirl" nodded. "Yes, this is the synthetic lifeform Evangelion: Unit-01. It is the only being currently able to fight the beings called Angels."

Misato stared for a second, before Asuka filled in the gaps. "It's a giant robot for fighting aliens." That was simpler and much more concise.

"So this is what you do here?"

"Correct," spoke an unfamiliar voice. Misato turned to see a man who was probably taller than anyone else she'd ever met. Certainly, he was taller than the average Japanese man. He had black hair surrounding his entire face, though it formed a very precise outline, which was odd. Usually, Misato had found, facial hair was at least a bit unwieldy. However, neither his height nor his pileous care were the most notable of his physical characteristics. No, the most notable where his hands - specifically, the pure white gloves that enclosed them, making him look like a government investigator or something like that - and the glasses he wore. The frames were thin, nothing unusual, but the lenses were orange - a light orange, rather than the more deep orange of Asuka's hair.

"Sir." Said woman nodded in his direction. "Why is Unit-01 out of cryostasis? We don't have a pilot, right?"

"One has just been delivered."

Asuka's response aloud mirrored Misato's silent one. "You don't mean...?"

The man turned towards Misato. "Misato Katsuragi, the monster above us wants nothing more than to bring about a Third Impact." He pushed up his glasses, a gleam of light sliding across them as he did so. "Nobody will survive another Impact, and you are the only one who can stop that Angel. Will you pilot the Evangelion?"

* * *

Darkness and silence - that was what it was like in the Entry Plug. She was jostled a bit, but not much. For the most part, she was simply alone.

However, that stopped once the Plug stopped moving. "Alright, Misato, can you hear me?" The voice coming through the Plug's speakers was Asuka's. "Doctor Ayanami will guide you through the activation process."

"I'm ready."

"Alright," spoke the soft voice of the doctor. "First, we're going to fill the Plug with LCL. It's a liquid - your lungs will be oxygenated directly, and it will be a cushion against any injury. Understand?"

Following Misato's affirmation, she noticed her toes were growing wet.

"Hold your breath in, then release. It makes it easier."

Surprisingly, when she did that after the LCL reached her chin, it actually worked. However, the LCL smelled horrible. "Ugh...this is disgusting."

"I know, but you'll have to live with it. You'll adjust eventually." That was Asuka speaking that time.

"Alright, we're about to begin activation."

Other voices began to speak. "Nerve connection confirmed." "Heart monitor, active."

"Ready, Misato? Start synchronization!"

Red, then orange, then yellow the Plug glowed. It spun through the rainbow - and even flashed through some sights that were clearly only modern art - before settling on a view of the room around her. The LCL had become clear, making it look as if she was sitting in a chair in midair. "Amazing! Synchronization rate is at fifty-six percent!"

"Nice job, Misato. Are you ready?"

"Do I have a choice?"

Asuka's reply was way too cheerful. "Nope!"

Misato sighed as her surroundings began to move. Eventually, the walls themselves slid away to reveal the Evangelion's full body - a complete human, albeit the size of a skyscraper. Or maybe only ten stories - it seemed to change every time she guessed. "We're moving you to a launch pad." That helped to know; this place was strange. When she stopped, Asuka checked in once more. "You're about to deploy. Get ready."

"Gateways open!"

"Transmission halted!"

"Evangelion, Unit-01! Launch!"

* * *

"Alright, Misato, just focus on walking. Just picture the Evangelion, feel the Evangelion taking a step."

Misato closed her eyes, trying to ignore the giant monster before her. _Just take a step. Just take a step. Just take a step_...Her leg rose, and she put it back down. She was trying to move the robot, not herself!

"She's walking! She took a step!" A veritable riot came through the speakers, which was odd. What had she done? Her eyes popping open against her volition, she looked down and noticed three things. First, she was tall. Second, her left leg was extended out. Finally, she was purple. _Synchronization...wait, does that mean I_ become _the robot?_ Evidently, it did. Tentatively, her other foot reached out - and her weight was off balance. A scream tore itself out of her throat as the ground rose up. Her head snapped back as she hit the ground. "Misato!"

 _My head..._ Misato groaned, and tried to put her arms - the Evangelion's arms - on the ground to pull herself up. As the robot's fingers extended across the concrete, she felt a tightening around her upper arm, as if someone was checking her blood pressure. Except, instead of smooth cloth, it felt like fingers. "Misato! Get up!" Asuka was yelling now.

Misato got up, but not of her own volition. The Angel pulled her up, firm grasps still maintained on the robot's arms. Then it pulled. "Agh!" Her heart pounded at the speed of light as she tried - futilely - to get free.

"It's not your real arm!"

Breath and breath and breath and breath. Gasps chained together rushed out like kindergarteners at recess.

A snap rang through the Entry Plug. Pain pain pain pain pain pain pain. All Misato knew was pain.

* * *

"The pilot's heart rate is erratic!"

"I had no idea!" The director of Operations for Nerv-HQ slammed down a fist on the intercom button. "Misato, get out of there!"

All that came from the Entry Plug was primal screaming, a scream not of pain but of sheer, unbridled fear.

The cameras showed the Angel was adjusting its grasp. A hand was removed from the now broken arm, and placed on the neck. "Oh God oh God oh God-" Asuka's eyes were erratic, her body twitching. "Misato! It's going to kill you!"

"It says something, Gendo, that the most stable individual on our staff is Maya Ibuki." Left unspoken was the obvious - including Gendo and Kozo himself.

"It does indeed, Professor."

Slams rang through the room as the Third Angel bashed the Evangelion with an energy lance once and twice and three times. It stumbled back - fell back, really - and lay against the building. It was still. Blood rushed out of the head, and then it collapsed.

* * *

Misato awoke to complete silence, which was odd. According to biologists, no species benefited more in Japan from Second Impact than the cicada; eternal summer, in general, was just good for insects. So, Misato always knew something was wrong when the cicadas were silent. Peeling her eyes open, she was greeted by a whitewashed ceiling. An unfamiliar ceiling. A blink, then a blink, then memories returned. She snapped up in her bed, and her head spun left and right around the room. It was more-or-less identical to the ceiling in terms of the architecture - which is to say, it was all white. Except for the door, obviously, which had one of those odd door-attached folder holders. Inside that was indeed a folder, which settled Misato's panic a bit. If she was in a hospital, then the Angel must be dead. The furniture in the room agreed with that conclusion, from the quintessential metal-framed hospital bed to the simple bedside table.

A quick self-evaluation revealed no injuries, so Misato swung her legs down to the ground and stood up. It was much more comfortable to walk on her own two legs than those of a giant robot, she found.

The door opened with nary a sound, and Misato emerged into a hallway with a long window on the opposing side. She looked out for a while, in sheer awe at the Geofront. She felt a certain measure of pride in that mankind could make such a thing. Eventually, the erratic rumbling of a gurney broke the silence, and it rolled into view after a short time. On it lay a girl her age, blond hair the only physical feature revealed. Well, only permanent feature, at least - she had a plethora of bandages covering a part of her skin-tight, jumpsuit-esque clothing, but a bit of red peeked through. Blood peeked through. But then the gurney rolled away, and all was silent once more.

* * *

"The Third Angel has finally come. It's more...abrupt than expected."

"Such is the way of earth-shattering disasters, Chairman." One of the council members' left eyebrow slid up, forcing a hint of a smile. "Such was the way of the Second Impact."

"It's fortunate the Angel has finally come. Maintenance costs for the Units were quickly becoming too large."

"Too large? No price is too large to protect the crux of the Project."

"You speak true, Chairman."

"On that note, Ikari, you must remember: the Angels are mere pittances in the eyes of the Human Instrumentality Project."

"I understand, Chairman." Gendo took off his glasses and stared into the man's eyes. "As always, sir, Nerv is the committee's humble servant."

* * *

"Japan is way too hot."

"You don't have anything complementary to say about this country, do you, ma'am?" Passive-aggressiveness was a beautiful thing, Maya had found. It was like the gift that, well, it keeping on giving would be the right thing for it to do, but it doesn't always.

"No, no I don't." And Asuka always seemed to effortlessly barge through. "At least not anymore. My father once took me here to see the cherry blossoms, but that was before the Impact."

Thinking about what had been lost in the Impact was never fun, but it happened from time to time. "We still do have cherry blossoms sometimes."

"Really?"

"Down in the Geofront. They bloom every six months or so."

"They do? I haven't seen them."

"You came two months ago, ma'am. You haven't seen everything."

Asuka very pointedly ignored Maya and turned to Doctor Ayanami. Everybody called her Doctor Ayanami, it seemed, except Asuka - infamously so - and the Supreme Commander. He usually called her just "Ayanami," which made some sense; she was his cousin-in-law once removed or something like that, if Maya remembered correctly.

"Wondergirl, are we even really needed here?"

The blue-haired woman gazed around, inching across the site, before turning to Asuka. "No, I do not believe so. Section Five has it well in hand."

The half-western woman popped up. "Finally! I need an air conditioner."

"You also have a duty to check on the health of the Third Child, ma'am. Or did you forget?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

* * *

It was nighttime when Misato emerged from Nerv alongside Asuka. Apparently, Asuka was her guardian, so Misato would stay with her for the foreseeable future. The car rumbled along the road as Asuka drove; it still hadn't been repaired, or if it had then Asuka should have looked into a better mechanic.

"You did well today, Misato."

"I didn't really do much."

"Nonsense. Take pride in what you did." She sighed, before glancing at the inset digital clock on the dashboard. The car sped up a fair bit, though Misato couldn't tell exactly, as she wasn't able to see the speedometer.

* * *

 **So! Generation swap between Misato _et al_ and the pilots. In case it isn't clear, it's Misato takes Shinji's place, Shinji takes Kaji's, Kaji takes Asuka's, Asuka takes Misato's, and Rei and Ritsuko switch. Now, they aren't entirely swapped - their relatives are just as canon, and have the same roles, deaths, and dates of death as canon, and that has effects ( _a la_ Asuka's losing it when Eva-01 is being strangled, 'cause of the... _flashbacks_ ). Also, I kept one thing very similar to canon that it would seem obvious to change, I'd like to see if anybody noticed it.**


	2. A Man and a Woman on a Quest for God

The Evangelion Unit-02 stood tall in the center of Nerv-Berlin. This was clear to anyone who traveled up to the observation platform located near the robot's head. One of these was Chief Inspector Shinji Ikari. It was a humbling feeling, Shinji found, to see so many people, and so small as well.

"Ikari."

"Commander." Single-worded greetings were par for the course when it came to his life, Shinji found. They were succinct, at the very least, and didn't imply much.

"The Third Angel attacked yesterday."

"I read the official report. Has the Supreme Commander released anything else?"

"Not as of yet. Your father's been very quiet on that front." Ah, yes. Shinji was none other than Gendo Ikari's son. Their relationship was _complicated_ , to say the least. "The Second Child's training has been adjusted to compensate for what has been learned from the Third."

"The Third Angel, or the Third Child?"

"Who says it can't be both?"

"Hmm." Shinji rolled his neck, and nodded towards the other man. "Speaking of Children, I suppose I should check on Ryoji."

Dismissing himself, Shinji pivoted and made for the staircase. As Shinji walked down the steps, a tension in his shoulders that he didn't know he had relaxed. There were few things, in Shinji's opinion, worse than people prying into things. And no, the irony was not lost on him.

The door at the bottom of the staircase opened with nary a sound, as the doors at Nerv were wot to do, and Shinji entered the hallway. Three more doors and Shinji was just outside of the pilot locker rooms. One female, one male. "Ryoji?"

* * *

"Eject the Plug! The pilot is our first priority!"

"It's not working!"

"The neuro-synapses are collapsing!"

"The wavespace synchrograph is reversing!"

Throughout the bridge of Nerv-HQ, scientists were screaming. Asuka hadn't the slightest what it all meant, but the sentiment was clear - Misato was in trouble. "Ayanami?"

"Man sought to enslave a devil - maybe, to enslave a god. Metal plates constrain, but it is pure hubris to believe we are Eva's complete master."

" _Gott_ , Wondergirl, got anything useful?" It was hard enough dealing with Ayanami when things were calm - at least, as calm as the Post-Impact world got - but an attack by some eldritch beast was not something she'd dub calm.

She glanced back at the camera feed. The eyes of the Eva glowed, life returning. The Evangelion rose up straight.

"What the...? The jawbone deadbolt has come free!"

"Impossible!"

The mouth dropped open. Blood dripped from inside like the funeral rites of a storm. The roar it released was primal - it called to mind the growl of a lion or a tiger - a beast who lorded over the realms of life and death. Asuka had seen evidence of Eva's beasthood before. It was only now that she believed it.

" _Mein Gott_..."

"The Evangelion's true form. Berserker."

The head fell down, until the horn pointed, like an arrow, straight at the core of the Angel. _Step. Step. Step step step_. Dashing and sprinting and charging at the Angel, the Eva came to bring ruin upon the beast. A lunge and lunge and-

"The Angel's erected an A.T. Field!"

"No! _Not now_!"

The broken arm fell to the Earth, the flesh ripped like fabric. It did not fall like a steel-iron pole the size of a house. It fell like a woman slipping from the heights down and down and-

Asuka breathed. _Not the time, Soryu._ The stump pulsed gold, before it pushed outwards, as if somebody was inside the Evangelion, struggling and screaming to escape from a mechanical womb. Glowing brightly against the blackness of the cold Tokyo-3 night, a new arm wrenched itself out of the robot's shoulder. A human arm. The two arms - those two arms that _did not_ go together - reached out, and they grabbed the A.T. Field. A growl accompanied a tearing of the orange stripes that made up the Angel's field.

"It's neutralizing the phase space!" shouted one of the bridge personnel.

"It's over, isn't it?"

"Yes, Lieutenant. It is."

The beast ripped the Angel's external ribcage apart. One rib was removed, and it began to stab the core. It popped.

* * *

"Shinji."

The man knelt. "Yes, Grandfather?"

"Rokubungi has requested the heart of salvation."

"He has requested _ADAM_?" In Shinji's line of work, big news was bad news. "Respectfully, Grandfather, are you going to give it to him?"

"Now that the Angels have arisen, we cannot afford for them to attack anywhere other than the Fortress City. We will send him ADAM."

"I am to be the courier, I gather?"

"Indeed. And if an Angel is to attack, you must at all costs protect ADAM's embryo. We cannot afford Impact."

"I understand, Grandfather."

"You shall receive ADAM at the Berlin Nerv branch, and from there you, along with Eva-02 and the Second Child as guards, will be ferried by the Pacific Fleet."

The conversation ended soon after, and Shinji returned to his car. Years of habit led through the same clutch-shift-gas chain that had been used for almost a century in vehicles such as his. Years of moral living led through the same window-throw up-sigh chain that had been used just as long when dealing with people like the rather oddly named - for a European, at least - Akihito Ikari. "Grandfather" - for he was technically Shinji's maternal grandfather, even if "maternal" hated him, he was only grand if you loved money, and he was as fatherly as Gendo Ikari. Funny thing, that Shinji's two living ancestors hated each other.

Thankfully, he had managed to be well beyond the walls of the Ikari compound when he expelled the remnants of breakfast, as even such an action would be construed as disgust with the Human Instrumentality Committe, and their Project - which it was, but that's beside the point - and he could lose his connections, who would in turn lose their lives; he could be killed, which obviously would be no fun; or if worst comes to worst, SEELE could pounce on Nerv's moment of Evaless weakness and reassemble the whole thing, and everything would be for naught. But enough hypotheticals. _ADAM_! They were sending out the _bona fide_ ADAM! Pity Shinji had no idea why; if he did, he - and maybe Ayanami, she had a degree in the stuff - could hide it and figure out how to fix the Chamber. Alas, that was not the case.

"Hello? This is Sub-Commander Kozo Fuyutsuki."

"Uncle Kozo! It's been a while." It said something about Shinji's family that he had a better relationship with a teacher from his mother's alma mater than any living Ikari.

"Indeed. How are things in Germany?"

"Very German." One would think that's stating the obvious, but Second Impact was very good at ruining what was thought obvious before that.

Kozo laughed. "At least it's not Russian, we've got bases there already. Did you want to talk to your father?"

"Mhm. Could you get him on the line?"

"Of course. One moment..." The line went static, then rang again. Finally, someone picked up.

"Hello, Shinji."

"Hey, Dad!" _We're being watched._

"Are you feeling well?" _But of course. Did you expect we weren't?_

"I'm fine." _No, I suppose not._ "Anything new happening in Japan?" _ADAM? What on Earth do you need ADAM for?_

"Not really." _None of your business._

"Oh. That's boring." _What are you planning, Gendo Ikari?_

"I suppose. But boring is good. Boring means peace." _You'll see. You'll see._

"Anyway, I'm glad all is fine. Good luck with the Fourth Angel."

"Thanks, Shinji. Goodbye."

"Bye!"

And Shinji Ikari hung up. Every conversation was like that - every cellular conversation, at least. It's truly amazing how much can be said when saying something completely different. Intrigue, intrigue, intrigue; it seemed like that was his whole life these days. SEELE's a pain that way.

* * *

"How'd you sleep?" The irony in Asuka's voice was palpable.

"Be quiet." Misato reached up to her forehead, and pushed a few stray strands to behind her left ear. "What did you make that bed out of? Gelatin?"

"Memory foam. And, strictly speaking, I didn't make it. I just bought it from a mattress store."

"You know what I mean."

"Hmm. Anyway, your breakfast is ready." She motioned towards a plate. "Coffee?"

Misato just nodded. "Milk and two sugars."

"Sweet tooth, huh? Children..." Asuka very visibly rolled her eyes, before grabbing the pot before her, and pouring into a mug. The mug, for some odd reason, had what appeared to be an opera house on the side. "Here." Misato's spare hand - the other was holding a bagel - wrapped around the lukewarm ceramic, and she raised it to her mouth. It was a shy bit bitter, but not drastically so. "You've got..." the readhead glanced at a wall clock, "...thirty minutes."

"Thirty minutes?"

"School. I can drive you over today, so you've got thirty minutes."

"School?"

"Yes, you have school. You know, due to mandatory education laws."

"Hmm." Misato just sipped her coffee. "Do I need a uniform?"

"Yup. It should be hanging in your closet."

"And how exactly do you know what size my clothes are?"

Asuka shrugged, a grin on her face. "Commander Ikari had them purchased. Ask him."

* * *

"So you're the Third Child, huh?" The blond girl that she'd seen on the gurney the day before looked at her, an appraising head-tilt punctuating her sentiment.

"That's me. You're...?"

"The First Child, Ritsuko Akagi. I'm sorry you had to fight the other day, but..." She motioned with her left arm, which was hanging in a blue-white sling. "It was even worse yesterday."

"What happened?"

Her free hand reached up, pulling down round, thin-rimmed glasses an inch or so. "That, Miss Katsuragi, is classified." If it wasn't for the fact that the tips of her mouth were upturned, Misato would've thought that she was being patronizing. That would've been weird, what with the fact that the other girl was her age. "Anyway, you'll want to talk to the Class Rep. She can probably get you situated." She paused. "Hikari!"

A brown-haired girl some distance away turned, and she paused for a moment before walking over. "Oh, are you the new transfer student?"

"Yup."

"Misato Katsuragi, right? Have you been logged into the system yet?"

Asuka had told her that - as with her uniform - Commander Ikari had that well in hand, so she just nodded. "What's your name?"

"I'm Hikari Horaki, the class representative for our year - what?" She broke off, presumably due to the raised eyebrow of Misato's that followed that statement. "We're a small school, and growing smaller. You heard that...that _thing_ storming around, right? Why would anyone want to live somewhere that has whatever it was? Speaking of which, why did you just come here now?" She said this all very fast.

"Oh, she was the one who was in the giant robot last night, fighting the Angel," Ritsuko piped up.

Silence. The entire schoolyard was quiet as the grave. To Misato's left, a small pathway opened up in the crowd. Out of it emerged a boy, furrowed eyebrows betraying his clear attempt at not looking angry. When their eyes met, the remnants of his attempt vanished, replaced by a mouth half-opened in rage. "You!"

Next to her, Misato heard Hikari sigh. "Suzuhara..."

His feet slammed across the ground as he made his way over. Quite visibly, he was clenching his right fist with his left hand, and his shoulders were up and tensed. "You were in that robot? Do you know what you did?" The question was clearly rhetorical, but that was probably the point.

"Suzuhara's little sister was wounded during the battle the other day," Hikari supplied.

Misato felt the blood run to her cheeks. Shame was not one of her usual emotions, but only the most coldhearted of individuals wouldn't feel guilty about injuring a little kid.

 _"Misato, we weren't the only ones who had family there. You need to apologize."_ Her past echoed in her mind, and she recalled what she'd been told to do. _"Just bow, and say 'I'm sorry.'"_

Before conscious thought could influence her actions, Misato bowed; her jet-black hair fell around her head like a shadow. "I'm sorry." She popped back up, then the rest of her mind caught up. _What? Why did I...?_

Some part of her brain, however, was present in the real world. Suzuhara's eyes widened, his shoulders drooping in clear evidence that the boy was taken aback. "I'm not going to hit you," he said in a slightly calmer, or at least slightly softer, voice, "because you're a girl. You're lucky. But..." The teen drifted off, evidently not having anything much to say. Without another word, he turned and walked away.

The silence lasted for a moment longer, before the soft roar of a schoolyard returned.

* * *

"What's the status?"

"Unidentified over Old Tokyo Bay."

"Magi readings?"

The soft voice of Rei Ayanami replied. "Inconclusive, though unanimous in recommending Alert Level Bravo."

"Hyuga, Alert Level Bravo!"

"Ma'am!"

"Where are the pilots?"

"Section Two has them, ETA Three minutes."

"Begin prepping Eva-01!"

Asuka never felt more comfortable than in command during a crisis.

"Ma'am, Magi have done a blood type scan."

"Blood type: Blue!" Makoto Hyuga turned to her. "Ma'am, it's an Angel!"

"Where are the pilots?"

"ETA thirty seconds."

"Set up Eva-01 for the Third Child."

However, she would admit that it could be stressful. Particularly sending children into battle. Tense minutes passed on the bridge until-

"Asuka?"

"Misato! Are you ready?" She nodded. "Alright, just like the simulations."

"Got it!"

* * *

"Ever wonder what it'd be like if Impact had never happened?"

It was a rhetorical question - it was _always_ rhetorical. The people who didn't wonder were clinically insane, and never wondered because they had no idea Impact had ever happened. Shinji envied them. "I miss the snow." Nerv had facilities all over the world - from the North Pole, Nerv-Ellesmere, to the South, Nerv-Vostok - but, for some nebulous reason, there were quite a few in Europe. Shinji's favorite was Nerv-Chamonix, named not after its location, but the closest town. It was a small facility, whose only job was to test coolant for the Evas at high altitudes, but Shinji didn't care about that. He just enjoyed the view. From on top of a mountain, it was impossible to see the destruction brought about by ADAM's rage.

"Why?"

"That's a good question." Shinji sighed. "Don't you miss it?"

"That's fair."

The man Shinji had been conversing with stepped into the light. "Ansgar of the Sacred Lance." SEELE had two types of people: the exorbitantly rich and the undeniably skilled. Shinji's grandfather was soundly in the first category; Ansgar was certainly in the second. There was a reason that he divorced himself from his original name, one lost to the sands of time - the scientist was entirely devoted to SEELE.

"Young Mister Ikari." Shinji wasn't all that young, but to be fair, everyone was young compared to Ansgar. The man had been alive at least as long as the existence of the Lance was discovered. There was a reason he was called "of the Sacred Lance," after all. He probably knew more about it than most of Nerv combined, and that included their resident genius and world-famous supercomputer. "You've got a high burden on your shoulders."

"ADAM?" The man nodded. "That's an understatement. I hate the concept of being able to trip and end the world."

Ansgar raised an eyebrow. "I don't think that's why you are nervous about this, however." Old people where too often disturbingly perceptive. Shinji shot him a glare. "Your...dysfunctional relationships are a matter of public record, Mister Ikari." Unfortunately.

"I must do what I can for the Sacrament."

The man didn't respond immediately, so Shinji gazed out over the mountains. The spellbinding sight was calming. "Indeed, Mr. Ikari. Indeed. What would any of us be if we couldn't reach the Sacrament?"

* * *

"Champagne?"

The glass shone as Asuka lifted it up. She could see the edges of her iris cast on a pale yellow canvas. She took a sip, then proceeded to place it back on the cherry bar with a soft clink. "I'm going to need something stronger than that." She gave a completely unforgiving smile to Maya, who was sitting in the seat next to her and was going to pay.

As the barman walked away to fetch something powerful, Asuka looked up at the ceiling. "Two Angels in as many weeks. It's ridiculous."

"Bad comedy act, in my eyes."

Asuka grinned. "Fair enough."

"Did you hear we're getting the Second Child?"

"I got some papers on it, yes. Been a while since I've seen the boy."

"You know him?"

"Mm. I was his guardian for a three or four-odd months, back a few years ago. My second job for Nerv, actually."

"What was your first?"

"War."

"Impact Wars?"

She nodded. "The tail end." Absently, Asuka brushed some of her hair off to the side. "When did you join?"

"Me? Around the same time, I think, but I didn't serve."

"You research types. No patriotism."

"'No patriotism'?" echoed Maya. "Hypocrite."

"Who's a hypocrite?" asked a familiar voice, causing Asuka to have to suppress a groan.

"Aoba? What're you doing here?"

"I've come here every day for the last few months. Not breaking that streak now. So who's the hypocrite?"

"Our CO over here. Mocked my lack of patriotism."

A moment passed in complete silence. "Is there anything safe to say in this situation?"

Asuka shrugged. "Depends on your definition of 'safe.'"

* * *

"Shinji Ikari?"

"That's me."

"Mother's in the hospital, isn't she?"

"She is. Father...got angry and hurt her."

"Now she can't have any more children."

It was a testament to the inhumanity of SEELE that many of their passwords were encoded with such monstrosities as abuse. And it was more of a testament to Shinji Ikari's life that he didn't flinch in saying them.

"We're secure here."

"Good." The man, dressed in an inconspicuous business suit, lifted up a suitcase. "The Father. The heart of salvation."

"ADAM. It's humbling how man is able to reduce a god to such a form."

"Indeed." He lifted it up, and Shinji grabbed the suitcase. "Keep an eye on Gendo Ikari."

Shinji smirked. "Of course."

The man left without another word, and Shinji waited a few minutes before exiting through another entrance. He stepped out into a mall, and he looked around for his charge. Now, this wasn't particularly difficult; calling Ryoji Kaji predictable was, to say the least, an understatement.

As Shinji guessed, Ryoji was at an outdoor cafe - a quintessential French one, as the French were nothing if not persistent with their culture - and, if humans could be considered at all habitual, he was probably flirting with the girls there. Quite frankly, there was no end to Shinji's amazement that the boy wasn't rejected very often. He supposed being at least nominally a soldier helped the boy - it was cute, he gathered, to Ryoji's seniors, and masculine to his juniors.

However, the dynamic duo had places to be. Slow, dignified steps took Shinji across the distance, the swinging briefcase keeping time like a heartbeat. In fact, that was a rather apt description; ADAM was little less than the heart of the Human Instrumentality Project.

"Ryoji!" As he got near, he called out his charge's name.

Ryoji's head snapped around rather violently, turning towards him. Shinji envied the youth, who was still allowed such luxuries as getting lost in a conversation and missing the outside world. Ryoji's eyes brightened, and the envy vanished. Shinji wasn't his father; he couldn't stay angry at a child for being a child. "Mr. Ikari!" Even after Impact.

A few whispers broke out at that. A few whispers always broke out at that; anybody who was anybody had heard of Gendo Ikari, head of Nerv, and his wife Yui Ikari, who arguably singlehandedly saved the Internet. Everybody loved the Internet, after all. Shinji even caught one girl - shorter, stocky, about fifteen - squeeing that she couldn't believe that she "got to meet a friend of Gendo Ikari!"

Yeah, "Dad" had some worship.

Looking over at the gathered crowd, Shinji pulled his glasses up a bit to peek under, giving the copyrighted Ikari Male Stare - a dry, though not inherently angry, glance that he knew made those he looked at feel unsettled. Somehow, Shinji didn't feel as much guilt from that as he properly should. "A pleasure, ladies. But we must be going, Ryoji."

The boy nodded. "Alright." He stood up, and he was reaching in his pocket for his wallet when Shinji interrupted.

"No time. How much?" he asked a waiter.

"Ah...fourteen Euros."

After pulling a Nerv-issue pad from a breast pocket, he scribbled down a promissory for twenty. A barely-readable signature by himself, another signature to notarize, and he handed it over to the waiter. It'd charge Gendo Ikari rather than him, with any luck, which was a satisfying thought.

When they were well out of earshot of the civilians, Shinji glanced over at his charge. "You have no shame whatsoever, do you?"

"Huh?"

Shinji raised an eyebrow. "Did any of those know you have been staring at videos of a girl who you have claimed is, and I quote, 'undeniably attractive'?"

Ryoji had the decency to blush at Shinji's jabs. "You're a horrible person, Mr. Ikari."

"I could be like my father."

A moment passed, Ryoji doubtlessly considering what life would be like if Shinji's Ikari tendencies didn't have a convenient coping mechanism. "That's a horrifying thought, sir. Anyway, where _are_ we going? You never told me."

"The port."

"Well, yes, but what's our eventual destination?"

"Our? Mine is Tokyo; yours is about fifteen meters under the sea, give or take a few."

"What?"

Shinji couldn't help but mess with the child's head. It was so simple. "Seriously, though, we're going to Tokyo-3."

"So we're going to Nerv-HQ?"

"Eventually." He broke off. "Woah, there." He grabbed the collar of the easily distractible boy, then pulled him back from the edge of the dock they'd walked onto. "That's a river." Ryoji was about a foot from falling into the Seine.

"Oh. Thanks. Where's the boat?"

Shinji pointed off to their left at the large loading dock labeled for the UN Navy. They walked in, and a man in a green uniform shirt with an extraordinarily tall collar greeted them. "Inspector Ikari, Mr. Kaji, I presume?"

"That one is Pilot Kaji, but yes. Is the ship ready?"

"Sir," the man affirmed, nodding. "Departure is at nine hundred hours." That was about fifteen minutes away.

"Thank you."

"No problem, sir."

As they walked away into the stainless steel halls of the dock, Ryoji whispered, "Who was that?"

Shinji shrugged. "Ensign Moreau, apparently."

"Why do you always act like you know everyone?"

"Because, in the military, you _do_ know everyone." If he had a yen for every pithy koan he'd heard from Mother, he'd probably suffocate in metal.

Ryoji shook his head. "Never mind."

They rounded a corner, and, lo and behold, there was a boat. A big boat, made of metal - not that Shinji expected anything else - bobbed in the shallow water of the wet dock. "The UN _Over the Rainbow_. Pride and joy of the UN Pacific Fleet."

"Mm. You know your ships, Inspector," a man said, a distinctly surprised note to his voice.

"I used to be a naval fanboy. Before Impact."

The older man, a UN Commodore, raised an eyebrow. "Out of curiosity, why aren't you anymore?"

Shinji closed his eyes, and he breathed deeply. Those memories were...not remembered positively. "It was a thing of my childhood."

The man just nodded. Nothing was the same after Second Impact. "Well, you'd best be boarding."

Shinji nodded. "Thank you, sir."

They climbed aboard, and soon were off.

* * *

"You're late." Ayanami's dry, unemphatic tone had a remarkable piercing quality to it that made Asuka feel a twinge of guilt despite herself.

"Shut it, Wondergirl! Status report, stat!"

"Ma'am, the Angel was first detected at 0900 hours by Matsushiro. It appears to be a large diamond-esque prism."

"Any discovered weaknesses?"

"None. It simply ignores normal fire."

Asuka cursed. _Nothing like going in blind_. "Alright. Sortie time for the Units?"

"Eva-01 can sortie in three hundred seconds. Eva-00 will need to be loaded into the docking bay, so at least fifteen minutes."

Asuka's left eye twitched. "Alright. Permission to sortie, Commander?"

"Go ahead."

"Sortie Eva-01!"

"Hey, Misato, how are you doing in there?"

"I'm fine. My fingers are starting to prune, but I'm alright."

"Good. Do you know the plan?"

"Pretty simple, right? Head up, neutralize the A.T. Field, and..." Misato waved her arms around. "Batta-bing, Batta-boom, dead Angel."

"Certainly one way of putting it. Get ready. Sortie in T-minus fifteen."

Misato nodded sharply, curling her fingers around the metal controls.

* * *

The hum of chopper blades rang through the helicopter's chassis. "So we're going to meet the Second Child?" Hikari Horaki asked, head tilted.

"That's right. We're also receiving Eva-02."

"Asuka?"

"Yes, Misato?"

"Do you happen to know the Second Child?"

"Not personally, no. But I can tell you that-"

"Please strap in, Ma'am, Miss, and Miss. We're about to land," the pilot cut Asuka off.

They buckled in, and the helicopter fell quickly. "This is Nerv flight oh-seven-niner-niner. Over the Rainbow, do you read?"

"Loud and clear, oh-seven-niner-niner. Authorization code?"

The pilot glanced at Asuka. "Ma'am?"

"That would be India-Kilo-Alfa-Romeo-India."

"Received. Proceed aft, landing zone A-2."

"You're the real deal, huh?"

"Yep, Miss Horaki. For all the informality it seems, Nerv is in fact military."

The girl blushed a bit, and didn't respond.

"Nerv, huh. This is the group supposed to save the world?"

"Respectfully, sir," replied Asuka, clearly not respectfully, "saying _supposed to_ is a bit outdated."

"Yes, so you claim."

A voice rang out in response that Asuka would've sworn was filled with arrogance if it wasn't for the speaker. "They're pretty substantiated claims, Captain."

A moment passed in complete silence. "Shinji?" _He_ was here? "Why...on Earth...are you here?" She strained to keep the anger at the man out of her voice.

"I couldn't just leave my protégée to the whims of the waves alone."

"You're the Second's guardian?"

"That's right. Speaking of which..." He turned down the stairs he was standing before. "Ryoji!"

A pattering came from the stairwell, before a familiar boy burst out onto the scene. He glanced around a bit, then he locked onto Asuka. "Hi, Miss Asuka. Still pretty as always."

"Hi, Ryoji." She grinned despite herself; the boy _was_ funny, at least. "You may want to try with someone your own age."

He blinked, then turned towards the two girls. "Are one of you lovely ladies the Third Child?"

* * *

 **So... this chapter is** _way_ **overdue. I've had it written for about two months now, but...yeah. Not much I can say, except "Sorry." 'Cause I am. I love this story - I've got a ton planned out, especially some world-building involving SEELE, as you could probably tell - I've just been so busy. And of course, when I got back into writing as my schedule started to settle by releasing my new HP/GOT fic, I immediately had one of the most tiring weeks of my life. I meant to publish this Thursday, but I felt horrible. I usually publish in the evenings for what is probably obvious reasons, but for this whole week I've felt horrible and I just wanted to sleep.**

 **Anyway! Chapter 3 is already written, and I mostly know where 4 will go (I'll probably start drafting it up tomorrow). For those fans of "In a Kingdom by the Sea," which'll probably come out between now and Tuesday depending on motivation to edit, that will be out soon. Thank you to everyone who reads this, by the way. I'm very thankful for the positive reception this fic has gotten.  
**


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